FINROSFORUM

FINROSFORUM

FINROSFORUM  //  The Finnish-Russian Civic Forum strives to promote cooperation between the peoples of Finland and Russia by supporting civic initiatives for democracy, human rights, and freedom of speech.

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Dec 23 / 1:52pm

"Putin's Voodoo Is Gone"

by Kerkko Paananen

Russian music critic and journalist Artemy Troitsky gave an interview to the Finnish publishing house, Into Kustannus, which publishes the Finnish edition of Novaya Gazeta. Speaking on the eve of renewed pro-democracy demonstrations planned for 24 December 2011, Mr Troitsky spoke about the change in the Russian people's protest mentality, the dismal state of the country's political party system, and the impending collapse of Vladimir Putin's regime. Below, an edited transcript of Mr Troitsky's comments.

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Filed under  //  Democracy   Human Rights   Medvedev   Opposition   Putin   Russia   Troitsky  
 
Dec 15 / 11:10am

Opposition Leader Held for Protest Attempt

by Kerkko Paananen

Media_httpiimgurcomwx_gweis

Russian opposition leader Sergey Udaltsov has been in detention in Moscow since 4 December 2011, solely for attempting to lead peaceful protests against alleged election fraud. Amnesty International considers Mr Udaltsov, leader of the political movement, Left Front, a prisoner of conscience, who should not be detained at all. He is in need of medical treatment and should be released without delay, the organisation demands.

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Filed under  //  Amnesty   Democracy   Demonstration   Human Rights   Left Front   Opposition   Russia   Udaltsov  
 
Mar 23 / 4:47am

Ingushetia's Opposition Leader Abducted

by Kerkko Paananen

Reports are coming in that Magomed Khazbiev, the leader of the popular opposition movement in the Republic of Ingushetia in Russia's volatile North Caucasus, has been abducted, according to Ingushetiya.Ru. Several opposition and human rights activists, including Ingushetiya.Ru's founder, Magomed Yevloyev, and opposition leader Maksharip Aushev, have been killed in recent years in Ingushetia.

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Filed under  //  Caucasus   Human Rights   Ingushetia   Khazbiev   Opposition   Russia   Urgent  
 
Jan 17 / 9:33am

Russian Opposition Plans March on Kremlin

by Kerkko Paananen

Media_httpimg1liveint_cehsa

Russia's anti-government opposition has announced that it plans to march on the Kremlin. Opposition leaders Eduard Limonov, Vladimir Bukovsky, and Konstantin Kosyakin left notice to the Moscow mayor's office about a planned rally in defence of the freedom of assembly on Moscow's Triumfalnaya Square on 31 January 2011. The rally would be followed by a march to the Kremlin.

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Filed under  //  Constitution   Demonstration   Human Rights   Kremlin   Moscow   Opposition   Russia   Strategy-31  
 
Jan 5 / 8:00am

Heidi Hautala: EU should support Russian opposition

by Kerkko Paananen
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Heidi Hautala, Chairwoman of the European Parliament's Sub-committee on Human Rights, has condemned the sentencing of Russian opposition activists arrested for taking part in a peaceful rally to defend the Russian Constitution on 31 December 2010. Ms Hautala called for the immediate release of all peaceful protesters. Hundreds of people were arrested in Moscow, St Petersburg, and other cities in Russia in connection with the campaign to defend Article 31 of the Russian Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of assembly.

"With the new mayor of Moscow, the authorities seemed to have been finally prepared to show respect for the constitutional right of citizens to peacefully gather and manifest their views. The arrest of hundreds of people on 31 December 2010 shows that this was an unfounded hope. This is a real backlash and we in the European Parliament must keep the pressure on our so-called strategic partner so that it respect the internationally guaranteed rights which every citizen, including Russians, shall enjoy," Ms Hautala said.

"The EU was very quick to react against police violence towards demonstrators in Belarus. I want to remind the EU representatives and colleagues of the need to avoid a potential double standard in the attitude towards the events in Belarus and Russia. The EU must keep condemning police practices in Russia as vigorously as it does in the case of Belarus. It is time that the EU opens contacts with and shows solidarity towards Russia's democratic opposition, just as it does towards the opposition of Belarus," Ms Hautala insisted.

http://www.heidihautala.fi/2011/01/chairwoman-condemns-the-sentencing-of-mr-nemtsov/

Filed under  //  Constitution   EU   Heidi Hautala   Human Rights   Opposition   Russia   Strategy 31  
 
Sep 29 / 12:46pm

Ingush President Eliminating All Dissent

by Kerkko Paananen

Magomed-mutsolgov

There are reports that the President of Russia's Republic of Ingushetia, Yunus-bek Yevkurov, has ordered the killing of the prominent human rights activist, Magomed Mutsolgov. The independent news portal, Angusht.com, cites sources within Ingushetia's law enforcement agencies saying Yevkurov is eliminating all dissent in the republic.

The sources said that Yevkurov had ordered the assassination of the leader of Ingushetia's popular opposition movement, Maksharip Aushev, in October 2009. Angusht.com also reported that the attempt to assassinate Imam Khamzat Chumakov on 14 September 2010 was made on the orders of President Yevkurov.

Magomed Ozdoyev, writing on Angusht.com, said Yevkurov wanted Chumakov killed because of the Imam's influence on young people. As many as 3,000-5,000 people regularly attended his sermons, in which he often accused the local authorities of involvement in extrajudicial killings and kidnappings in Ingushetia.

Moreover, reports say Yevkurov's security forces have issued a "serious warning" to Magomed Khazbiev, one of the few remaining leaders of the republic's opposition movement. This was after Khazbiev reported that Yevkurov was behind the assassination attempt on Imam Chumakov. Khazbiev and his family are under constant harassment.

http://www.waynakh.com/eng/2010/09/yevkurov-plans-to-kill-a-well-known-human-rights-defender/

Filed under  //  Human Rights   Ingushetia   Opposition   Russia   Yevkurov  
 
Aug 24 / 5:21pm

Nemtsov Warns of Revolution in Russia

by Kerkko Paananen

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Russia's former deputy prime minister, now a leader of the country's opposition, Boris Nemtsov, warned that his country was being pushed toward revolution by a new authoritarianism. A day after he was arrested for parading in Moscow on Russia’s Flag Day, Mr Nemtsov attacked Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, calling him a "son of the KGB who believes not in freedom but in dictatorship."

"Putinism is a disaster for the country," Mr Nemtsov said. "Putin is against freedom; he is afraid of the Russian people, he is afraid of a rally, he is afraid of the opposition, and he is afraid of elections. The Russian people are just so tired of Putin and his team that they will ultimately change the system. But the real danger for the country is that there will be a bloody revolution," Mr Nemtsov warned.

http://www.nationalpost.com/

Filed under  //  KGB   Nemtsov   Opposition   Putin   Revolution   Russia  
 
Aug 11 / 5:23am

Greater calls for government accountability

by Kerkko Paananen
Criticism of Russia’s response to wildfires linked to greater calls for government accountability, transparency

As wildfires rage across Russia and the death toll rises, many critics say the government's response to the disaster has been inadequate. Officials have been quick to proclaim control of the fires, but mobilizations to save villages have been slow.

The ongoing disaster may further fuel popular opposition to the current regime, at a time when the government has made moves to crack down on the strengthening grassroots movement that is fighting for official accountability, the rule of law, and an end to corruption.

Jenny Johnson of Free Speech Radio News interviewed Oksana Chelysheva, board member of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, Kerkko Paananen, Information Secretary of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum, and Tatyana Lokshina, Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch in Moscow.

Filed under  //  Corruption   Human Rights   Kremlin   Opposition   Russia   Wildfires  
 
May 19 / 6:19am

Russia's Prosecutor General: Opposition = Terrorism

by Kerkko Paananen
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The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has accused the country's opposition of encouraging terrorism, Vedomosti reported. "Ideologists of Western-style democratisation of Russia" coordinate radical youth groups, and the number of terrorist attacks carried out by the groups has grown, Deputy Prosecutor General Viktor Grin said.

Grin said that terrorists were trying to influence public opinion by "encouraging supposed defenders of human rights, opposition activists, separatists, and members of armed rebel groups." Leonid Gozman, leader of the right-wing Right Cause party, noted that the Prosecutor General's Office has thus admitted who it is really fighting against.

Grin identified two groups -- the banned National Bolshevik Party and the ultranationalist Movement Against Illegal Immigration -- and accused them of engaging in extremist activities. Grin said the National Bolsheviks have been trained to fight law enforcement officers similar to the uprisings in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.

Grin's statement was in reply to a question from the Russian State Duma's Committee on Security. Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov and Federation Council speaker Sergey Mironov expressed anger at press articles, which appeared after the metro bombings in Moscow, saying the articles reflected the views of Islamist terrorists.

http://www.vedomosti.ru/newspaper/article/2010/05/18/234519

Filed under  //  Opposition   Russia   Terrorism  
 
Apr 6 / 10:39am

Ingush opposition leader fears for his life

by Kerkko Paananen
Media_httpimglentarun_kabyc

Russian authorities have issued a federal warrant for the arrest of three brothers of the Ingush opposition leader and independent journalist, Magomed Khazbiev, The Caucasian Knot reported. The authorities accuse the three brothers -- Ali, Makhmoud, and Berd -- of involvement in the beating of Kaloy Akhilgov, official spokesman for the Ingush president, Yunus-bek Yevkurov, on 22 February 2010.

Magomed Khazbiev fears for his life. Khazbiev's brothers have protected him after an armed assault on the family's house in August 2008. Two of Khazbiev's close colleagues have been murdered: In late August 2008, opposition leader Magomed Yevloyev was killed by Ingush police on his return to the republic; in October 2009, another Ingush opposition leader, Maksharip Aushev, was gunned down in nearby Kabardino-Balkaria.

Musa Pliev, lawyer representing the Khazbiev family, said Magomed Khazbiev has always stood for human rights. Mr Pliev vowed to defend the family from arbitrary justice. On 11 March 2010, a heavy police detachment carried out a search of Khazbiev's home in Nazran. Earlier, he was questioned in connection with the beating of Kaloy Akhilgov. The authorities claim that Magomed Khazbiev was behind the beating.

http://www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/167284/

Filed under  //  Caucasus   Ingushetia   Opposition   Russia